376 Foreign and Miscellaneous Intelligence. 



according to M. Oersted, must be accounted for by the circumstance 

 that, in Mr. Perkins's experiments, the compression was produced by 

 percussion, the force of which cannot be calculated. 



11. PECULIAR APPEARANCE OF SATURN'S RING. 



The second Number of Schweigger-Seidel's Jahrb., 1830, contains 

 the report of M. Schwabe, of Dessau, on the appearance of Saturn's 

 ring, which be repeatedly found at the eastern side to be more distant 

 from the body of the planet than on the west side. He had convinced 

 himself that the shadow of the planet had no influence on this ap- 

 pearance, which he had first discovered in 1827 with a 3J foot 

 refractor, and found his observations confirmed in 1829 by a 6 foot 

 refractor with 54 lines aperture. In the nights of the 21st of April 

 and of the 3rd, llth, and 20th of May, the inequality seemed to be 

 at its maximum, and appeared less in the intermediate nights. These 

 observations were also confirmed by those of Professor Harding. 



$ II. CHEMICAL SCIENCE. 



1. DECOMPOSITION OF WATER BY ATMOSPHERIC ELECTRICITY. 



M. Bonijol, conservator of the reading society of Geneva, has con- 

 structed many very delicate apparatus, by means of which water may 

 be readily decomposed by the electricity of the ordinary machine, 

 and also by atmospheric electricity. The electricity of the atmosphere 

 is gathered by means of a very fine point fixed at the extremity of 

 an insulated rod ; the latter is connected with the apparatus, in which 

 the water is to be decomposed, by a metallic wire, of which the 

 diameter does not exceed half a millemeter (^yth of an inch). In 

 this way the decomposition of the water proceeds in a continuous 

 and rapid manner, notwithstanding that the electricity of the atmos- 

 phere is not very strong. Stormy weather is quite sufficient for the 

 purpose*. 



2. DECOMPOSITION BY ORDINARY ELECTRICITY. 



M. Bonijol has also succeeded in decomposing potash and the 

 chloride of silver, by placing them in a very narrow glass tube, and 

 passing a series of electric sparks from the ordinary machine through 

 them. The electricity was conducted into the tube by means of two 

 metallic wires fixed into the ends. When a quick succession of 

 electric sparks had taken place for about five or ten minutes, the 



* Bib. Univ, 1830, p. 213. 



